Rep. Pat Hurley introduced a bill Tuesday that would eliminate three seats from the Trinity City Council, which she said is a response to constituents upset about government dysfunction in the northern Randolph County municipality.

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Hurley, R-Randolph, would change the council from its current eight members with a mayor to five council representatives with a mayor. If passed by the N.C. General Assembly during this year’s session, the changes to the city charter would take effect with this fall’s Trinity municipal election.

One effect of the House Bill 263, if passed, would mean eliminating four ward seats on council this year. Those seats are held by Debbie Frazier in Ward 1, Ed Lohr in Ward 2, Chester Ayers in Ward 3 and Linda Gantt in Ward 4, according to the Randolph County Board of Elections.

The High Point Enterprise wasn't able to reach any of the four affected councilmembers this afternoon.

If enacted, Trinity voters would go to the polls this year for only one race — a new at-large seat on council. The filing period for the Trinity election would be July 6-17.

The at-large winner would join the remaining four ward members and mayor in a council that would take the oath of office in December.

Instead of two members from each of the four wards, Hurley’s bill would have one councilmember from each ward. The bill also would change the council terms from four-year to two-year terms.

Hurley, whose state legislative district covers Trinity and the northern part of the county, said she was spurred to act by Trinity residents upset about years of conflicts and disputes in the city founded 18 years ago.

“It’s mainly listening to the people of Trinity who were concerned,” Hurley told The High Point Enterprise. “The council is too large for the number of people (in the city).”

Reducing the size of council would encourage Trinity’s elected officials to work better together and accomplish more for their constituents, Hurley said.

The changes in the council structure also would bring Trinity’s elected body more in line with the size of other cities in the county, she said.

Asheboro, a city with 25,000 residents, has a smaller council with seven members than Trinity’s current council with nine, Hurley said. Trinity’s population is 6,800. Archdale’s council has six members for a city with a population of 11,000, she said.

Trinity has been embroiled for the past several years in an ongoing series of controversies, which have periodically played out in verbally volatile meetings of the council. The disputes have included:

• How city elected officials and staff have handled $3 million owed by Trinity for sewer projects. The manner in which Trinity has addressed its obligation prompted the N.C. Local Government Commission, which monitors the fiscal situation of municipalities and counties, to previously raise questions about the city’s sewer fund.

• The forced departure of former City Manager Ann Bailie, whose severance package itself became a point of contention.

• Heated debates about whether to develop land for a city park, extend water and sewer lines for commercial development, zone parcels for certain land uses and disputes over enforcement of sign ordinances.